Category: LIST OF MAJOR RIVERS OF INDIA

The rivers of India play an important role in the lives of the Indians. They provide potable water, cheap transportation, electricity, and the livelihood for a large number of people all over the country. This easily explains why nearly all the major cities of India are located by the banks of rivers. The rivers also have an important role in Hindu Dharma and are considered holy by all Hindus in the country.

Seven major rivers along with their numerous tributaries make up the river system of India. The largest basin system of the rivers pour their waters into the Bay of Bengal; however, some of the rivers whose courses take them through the western part of the country and towards the east of the state of Himachal Pradesh empty into the Arabian Sea. Parts of Ladakh, northern parts of the Aravalli range and the arid parts of the Thar Desert have inland drainage.

All major rivers of India originate from one of the three main watersheds:

The Himalaya and the Karakoram ranges

Vindhya and Satpura ranges and Chotanagpur plateau in central India

Sahyadri or Western Ghats in western India

The Indo-Gangetic Plains

Known as Ganga-Satluj Ka Maidaan , this area is drained by 16 major rivers. The major Himalayan Rivers are the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra. These rivers are long, and are joined by many large and important tributaries. Himalayan rivers have long courses from their source to sea.(in India Arabian sea and Bay of Bengal)

Ganges River System

The major rivers in this system are (in order of merging, from west to east)

Ganga – Starting from Gangotri Glacier, Uttarakhand

Chambal -Flows through Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and merges into Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh

Yamuna – Yamuna runs its most of the course parallel to Ganga before contributing its water to Ganga at Allahabad

Gomti – Starts near the junction of three borders viz. Nepal, Uttarakhand and UP

Ghaghra – Starts in Nepal near Uttarakhand

Son – Not Himalayan river, covers MP, UP, Jharkhand and Bihar. Largest of Ganga’s southern tributaries

Gandak – Starts from Nepal

Kosi – Starts from Bihar, near Indo-Nepal border

Brahmaputra – Merges with Ganga to form the grand river (but short in length) – Padma in Bangladesh. By now, flow velocity of both rivers slow down to considerable extent as they are in plains now.

Before entering Bangladesh, Ganga leaves a distributary Hugli, which provides water for irrigation in West Bengal

Indus River System

The ‘Indus River originates in the northern slopes of the Kailash range near Lake Mansarovar in Tibet. Although most of the river’s course runs through neighbouring Pakistan, as per as regulation of Indus water treaty of 1960, India can use only 20 percent of the water in this river. A portion of it does run through Indian territory, as do parts of the courses of its five major tributaries, listed below. These tributaries are the source of the name of the Punjab of South Asia; the name is derived from the punch (“five”) and aab (“water”), hence the combination of the words (Punjab) means “land with the water of five rivers”. The Indus is 3,200 kilometres (2,000 mi) long.

The major rivers in Indus river system are (in order of their length):

Indus – 3,202 kilometres (1,990 mi)

Chenab – 960 kilometres (600 mi)

Jhelum – 813 kilometres (505 mi)

Ravi – 720 kilometres (450 mi)

Sutlej – 529 kilometres (329 mi)

Beas – 460 kilometres (290 mi)

Shyok

Zanskar

The Peninsular River System

The main water divide in peninsular rivers is formed by the Western Ghats, which run from north to south close to the western coast. Most of the major rivers of the peninsular such as the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri flow eastwards and drain into the Bay of Bengal. These rivers make delta at their mouths. The Narmada, Periyar and Tapti are the only long rivers, which flow west and make estuaries.

The Ganga River System includes the following rivers (10 major rivers plus Damodar river and Hugli river):

Rivers

Length (KM)

Origin

End

Ganga

2,525

Gangotri Glacier (Bhagirathi), Uttarakhand

Bay of Bengal

Yamuna

1,376

Yamunotri Glacier, Uttarakhand

Merges with Ganga at Allahabad (Triveni Sangam – Kumbh Mela spot

Brahmaputra

1,800

Himalayan Glacier in Tibet, but enters India in Arunachal Pradesh

Merges with Ganga and ends in Bay of Bengal

Chambal

960

Tributary of Yamuna river, starting at Madhya Pradesh

Joins Yamuna river in UP

Son

784

Tributary of Ganga, starting at Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh

Joins Ganga just above Patna – also considered part of Vindhya river system

Gandak

630

Nepal; Ganges tributary at Indo-Nepal border (Triveni Sangam)

Joins Ganga near Patna

Kosi

720

Starts from Bihar near Indo-Nepal border

Joins Ganga near Katihar district of Bihar

Betwa

590

Tributary of Yamuna, rises at Vindhya region, MP

Joins Yamuna at Hamirpur in UP

Gomti

900

Tributary of Ganga, starting at Gomat Taal, UP

Joins Ganga in Varanasi district

Ghaghra

1080

Himalayan Glacier in tibet, tributary of Ganga

Joins Ganga in Bihar

Hugli (Hooghly)

260

Tributary of Ganga near West Bengal

Merges with Ganga at Bay of Bengal

Damodar

592

Tributary of Hugli near Chandwar, Jharkhand

Merges with Hugli in West Bengal

Although Hugli and Damodar rivers play a very important role in shaping the local civilisation and local economy, they are not considered as the most important rivers of the Ganga river river system.

The Indus River System includes the following 6 major rivers:

Rivers

Length (KM)

Origin

End

Indus

3180

Originates in Tibetan plateau, Enters India in J&K

Merges into Arabina sea near Sindh

Chenab

960

Upper Himalayas in the Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh

Merges with Indus

Jhelum

725

Tributary of Chenub river, Punjab

Merges with Chenab at Jhang (Pakistan)

Ravi

720

Starts from Bara Bhangal, Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh

Joins Chenab in Pakistan

Sutlej

1500

Tributary of Indus river, originates at Rakshastal, Tibet

Meets Beas river in Pakistan and ends at Arabian sea

Beas

470

Rises at Himalayas in central Himachal Pradesh

Joins Sutlej river in Punjab, India

Western Ghats Rivers:

Rivers

Length (KM)

Origin

End

Kaveri

765

Talakaveri in Western Ghats in Karnataka

Ends in Bay of Bengal

Krishna

1400

Originates in the Western Ghats near Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra

Ends in Bay of Bengal near Andhra Pradesh

Godavari

1465

Starts in Maharashtra and passes through 7 Indian states

Empties in Bay of Bengal

Tungabhadra

531

Tributary of Krishna river staring at Karnataka

Joins Krishna river along the border of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh

Vindhya and Satpura Ranges rivers:

Rivers

Length (KM)

Origin

End

Tapti

724

Rises in Eastern Satpura Ranges, Madhya Pradesh

Empties into Gulf of Khambat, Gujarat

Mahi

580

Rises in Madhya Pradesh

Flows into Arabian sea from Gujarat

Narmada

1315

Starts from Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh

Drains into Arabian sea via Gulf of Cambay

Other Important notes on Indian rivers to remember:

River Saraswati is a mythical river and is part of the Hindu triveni Sangam mythology of the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers. Saraswati river is thought to be flowing under the ground and meeting Ganga and Yamuna at the Kumbh mela spot.

Meghna a major river in Bangladesh is a tributary if Indian Brahmaptura river and also empties in Bay of Bengal.

River Tapi is a river in Thailand and is not to be confused with Indian river Tapti (Tapati).